Disclosure On Stinson Kicks Up Smoke Screen

COUNTY LINES

Seldom will it let you down. And often, it even has the capacity to astound.

Take St. Cloud. Please.

No sooner does Gary Stinson slog up to his knees in his own muck than the good-old-boy propaganda machine kicks into fifth gear.

Here it was, the same day the news broke of Stinson lying about his credentials during his successful campaign for St. Cloud City Council. No college, no engineering degree, the fundamental issue of his trustworthiness called into serious question.

So what happens on the street when a reporter is trolling for follow-up information?

He bumps into Jud Bailey, a longtime St. Cloud political lightning rod.

Right away, Bailey passes on some new information to the reporter, stuff about election promises that supposedly were not kept.

Ooh, more dirt on Stinson, the naive might believe.

Nope.

Instead, Bailey, a Stinson supporter, evidently has decided a shabby offense is the best defense.

The two photocopies he passes have nothing to do with Stinson. They purport to show that Councilman Larry Hobbs, often one of Stinson's strongest philosophical opponents on the dais, is somehow crooked.

One photocopy is a Hobbs campaign ad saying he won't accept more than $25 in contributions from individuals.

The other is a photocopied page from the campaign report filed with the supervisor of elections office. It shows Hobbs getting $150 from the MacKichan family of St. Cloud. Actually, it doesn't show that at all. What it really shows is Hobbs getting $25 from each of the six individual members of the MacKichan family.

That comprises a Stinson supporter's response to the Stinson scandal - dump on Hobbs.

Same day, same subject, different reporter, different source.

St. Cloud politician-without-portfolio, contractor Billy Newman, is asked about the Stinson fiasco. His response?

Larry Hobbs hasn't kept up with his campaign promises.

Is it just me, or is there a disturbing pattern here?

Next case: A former City Council member, who at least had the pluck to tell you when he was about to drive a bulldozer over you, said Thursday he thought it was no big deal.

He said he likes what Stinson stands for politically, so he's not too bothered.

That's exactly the point, guys, even though you've twisted it. It's not time to question what someone else stands for. It's not time to try to splash the muck on someone else.